Spin off to dinner on a budget

amother

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 9:34 am

I don't know anything about the OP from the other thread or her lifestyle. nut some of those suggestion sound like they would be ok once a week and motzei shabbos when you have cholent for lunch. As a mom of kids I find there brain needs the protien.
They are the least hungry in school when they eat eggs and toast for breakfast my kids b'h get healthy lunch in school which include eggs, and many dairy and cheese product. good tun once or twice a week is ok but if you have to fill it with 'fillings" of egg and matzah meal thats not ok. if its me. it won't make me healthy but I can eat anything . but children need a balance diet of eggs, dairy, carbs, beansm healthy fat and protien - which include fish and healthy meat.
I struggle to pay bills. so I know what you mean but is it ok way to live?

Flip Flops

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 9:49 am

I totally agree with you. It is important to have a balanced diet even if it is more expensive.
I serve chicken/meat/salmon most nights so I was looking for the kind of dinner I can serve once or twice a week to bring down the cost. But of course I wouldn't serve potatoes every night.

mrsjay

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 9:59 am

I just went to check out the other thread and majority of the suggestions did include a protein: cheese, eggs, beans, and meat. I am a big advocate for a balanced meal protein veggie and carb so most of those suggestions would work for me some could be tweaked and some drumsticks to the soup.. add broccoli or salad to the stuffed baked potato...

LittleDucky

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 10:01 am

Yes protein is important but as a society we actually eat way more meat than we need to in order to be healthy (and which can cause its own health issues...).
As a family we do serve chicken etc but the idea I think is also to find healthy "other parts" of the meal. Not only do you not have to serve meat every day- but you don't need to fill up on it. Healthy grains, vegetables etc all balance out the meal and fill us up.

amother

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 10:42 am

the other thread meat was fatty meat with fillers

How do we know how much chicken,meat we actually need?
Eating healthy cost more. whole grains cost more. broccoli and salad with a hechshe rcost more
also as a mother I find it so hard to go whole wheat. My kids refused to eat rice until I switched to white. One kid refuse to eat whole wheat bread and now everyone perfers the white. I have a picky eater. Whole wheat cost more.
Any cookbooks sold that include freezer friendly, buget friendly, healthy meals for picky people oris that to much to ask/?

amother

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 11:32 am

baby12x wrote:

animal proteins are not the only healthy proteins
Beans are a very healthy protein
If you want to save money- cut out fish, chicken then. Add in beans and then you can afford whole grains and vegetables

beans are good. but beans to many times a week is bad for the stomach. We try hard to eat Balanced. which include both beans and fish and meat. to get back to my point. I don't know the healthy amount of fish and chicken to eat. but eating a drop of meat or fish with fillers. is not much different than eating geffilta fish and hotdogs both of which I would use as a protien meal food. I asked how to cut it? how much do we really need of it?but we can't cut it out completly

BetsyTacy

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 12:38 pm

In my opinion, eating healthy meat with healthy fillers (ground turkey meatballs with whole wheat matza meal and egg to stretch, and if your family is amenable also ground zucchini) is not at all comparable to hot dogs, which I consider to be a junk food.

You can use the same mixture with canned salmon to make salmon patties. Canned salmon is often (always?) from wild salmon, which is supposed to be better than farm raised, and it is obviously much cheaper than fresh. Fresh salmon is not a frugal weekday meal.

You don't need to serve beans every night, although I believe that Americans eat far too much protein and too few vegetables and whole grains. I find garbanzo beans to not have the same bean effect as other beans and are the basis for falafel balls, or can be nice protein (esp with avocaodo chunks) in a salad.

In terms of "whole wheat bread" vs white bread, there are many types of whole wheat bread out there, some which are a lot more mild tasting than others. It is worth buying one type each week (obviously the one on sale) to see what the options are. Also, when it it toasted it tastes a lot less "whole grainy" than untoasted.

tilot37354

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 4:22 pm

Every meal should have some protein for nutrients, carbs to fill you up, and vegetables. Carbs are usually cheap, as are vegetables. The question is where the protein is coming from. You can have baked ziti for $6 for a 9x13 with 16oz pasta 8oz bag cheese 24oz marinara sauce (whole wheat pasta if you want to feel better about yourself) and cut up carrots and cucumbers and spend $8 on a supper for 6, or you can have London broil for the protein. Fish like frozen tilapia and flounder is much cheaper than fresh salmon and has just as much protein. Eggs are pretty cheap, as are beans, and can supplement the protein just as well as filet mignon. With a bit of creativity, I'm sure you can make supper for 5+ people for under $5/person without missing on any essential nutrients (assuming you're not getting everything top of the line organic).

chipmunks

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 4:30 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Little-known fact: vegetables are protein. There's even a vegan product called textured vegetable protein. I've seen it. But yeah, you'd have to eat a lot more of it to get the same amount because it's not as dense. Anyway, it's true most modern diets include way, way more protein than we need. And I am not a vegan, nor is the well-respected gastroenterologist who told me that last part.

ETA: I think the issue isn't so much if their brains need more protein (extremely doubtful) but if their stomachs are full. If you're going to make fruits, veggies, and whole grains the whole meal, great, but you better make a whole lot of it.

ra_mom

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 5:04 pm

chipmunks wrote:

Food is only considered to be a whole protein if it has at least 8 grams of protein per serving.
The high protein vegetables have only 2.5 - 3 grams of protein per cup.
Only legumes, like green peas, soy beans and beans have significant protein, and we don't consider those vegetables, just plant based. In addition, the only way for those to be considered whole proteins is if you combine them with grains.

FYI vegan vegetable protein is made from soy. They only call it vegetable because it's plant based but soy every day is not healthy.

amother

Cobalt

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 5:28 pm

It's actually neither protein nor whole grains that are most important but rather healthy fats and vegetables that should be making up the bottom of our food pyramid. we try not to dichotomize foods, just eat whole foods that are nutrient dense. squashes and tubers are cheap and extremely healthy. we skip grains altogether in favor of legumes, beans, lentils etc.

chipmunks

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 5:29 pm

ra_mom wrote:

I didn't mean a serving of vegetables is a serving of protein. That's why I specified it's not as dense and you'd need tons more. I also said I've seen textured vegetable protein, not that anyone should eat it every day! Wink

I sure wouldn't. But that's interesting it's made from soy. I figured but thought there were vegetables in it, too.

Anyway, we were going over my child's diet and when I asked about the levels of protein the gastroenterologist told me you can live very healthily even as a vegan as long as you eat a good variety and don't have soy more than a certain amount per day. So yes, my few meals a week without traditional proteins were just fine and even among the healthiest. I think that's what OP's asking. Smile

chipmunks

Mon, Jan 06 2020, 5:32 pm

amother [ Cobalt ] wrote:

The vegetables at the bottom of the pyramid I get, but healthy fats? I think even healthy ones are closer to the top. I mean, yes, you need some but I can't imagine eating as much in nuts and olive oil as you should in fruits and veggies.

amother

Linen

Wed, Jan 08 2020, 9:34 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Of course it's different. If you stretch your protein with healthy fillers, it remains healthy. If you stretch your protein with less healthy or junky fillers, you lose the health benefits. Unless your children have specific health needs, I would focus much more on healthy foods rather than stressing about lots of proteins. That's where many people end up giving their kids foods that are actually poor nutritional choices in the name of "protein": yogurts and leben than are loaded with obscene amounts of sugar, hot dogs, etc. Ask your doctor how many servings a day they should be getting, and you'll probably find that they're already way over that. Healthy fats will keep them full for longer.

Rappel

Wed, Jan 08 2020, 10:22 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If your kids are really, really picky: I used to know someone who would hide everything healthy in muffin form. Fresh muffins are delicious however you do them, and you can stuff them with grated/pureed vegetables and eggs and your kids will never be the wiser.

Mine aren't picky yet, and I just gave them rice, peas, lentils and cottage cheese for supper. It went down like a storm. Yes, the rice was white, but it helped them eat everything else, so I'm not complaining. That could be one economic meal, if your crew will take it.